North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Caramanica Drops For Greater Success
1/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BY TIM PEELER
“My mom makes too much good food,” said the NC State junior wrestler from
So she insists he takes seconds of lasagna or eggplant parmigiana, his favorite. Fortunately for Caramanica, he’s never had to cut much weight during his career until this year.
Caramanica moved down from the 149-pound weight class, where he won the ACC championship last year, to the 141-pound weight class, switching places with teammate Darrion Caldwell. That means, for the first time, he had to leave the normal life of a wrestler, watching his intake of every bite and sweating off his indulgences.
“It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to go down a weight class, especially once you get to college,” said NC State wrestling coach Carter Jordan. “He always just wrestled his natural weight. But last year at the national tournament, he realized he was being out-manned by bigger opponents, so he had to make a change.”
The switch seems to have paid off for Caramanica, who is ranked No. 7 in the nation at 141. At 20-4 overall, he has the team’s second-best record behind
“I think Joe has a tremendous amount of confidence right now,”
“That’s what you want to hear from your wrestlers.”
There’s no questioning Caramanica’s confidence. A two-time state champion in high school, Caramanica has been wrestling since the age of four. That’s when a neighbor suggested to his parents that spending a few hours in the mat room might counter some of the youngster’s hyperactivity.
It worked, and Caramanica continued to succeed in a sport that was unfamiliar to his family. He was recruited by dozens of schools, but chose to come south for the weather and to be closer to his two uncles who live on the Outer Banks. Out of season, he visits them frequently, with surfboard in tow.
For now, however, Caramanica is looking to improve throughout the ACC season so he will be better prepared for the NCAAs. He’s qualified for the tournament the past two years, but admittedly fell flat once the competition began.
“I’ve been out there two times and I have not done well,” Caramanica said. “My freshman year, I don’t know what happened. I think I was just in shock. My second year, I cracked a couple of ribs in my second match. It just didn’t go as planned. But I am hoping the third time is the charm. I know what to expect.
But he still needs some fine-tuning to get use to the lighter weight class.
“It’s more difficult to make the weight and maintain it, but it is something I am getting better at,” he said. “I was never really used to cutting weight before. I never cut much weight in high school at all. Now, I am finally as big and as strong as everybody I am wrestling. I am able to hold my own strength-wise and weight-wise.”
A key member of the Wolfpack’s ACC title last year, Caramanica also benefits from competition with Caldwell and Ryan Goodman, who are both capable of succeeding at the highest level. Wrestling may be a one-on-one sport, but there are certain benefits for a team that is stacked with talent.
“All of those guys are very competitive with each other,”
Caramanica believes he can continue to manage his weight properly and keep winning on the mat, he can erase his postseason disappointments of the last two years.
“My goal right now is to dominate every match from here on out, then when the NCAAs come, I hope to make it to the finals,” he said. “If you make it to the finals, then anything can happen.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
